Indian Ocean and
Australia 2005-2006For
details of trip to West Australia August / Sept 2012
see this
link

Sunset
over Bali

Evening
over King Bay, Dampier

The vessel departed Singapore 26
November 2005 and sailed for Dampier,
NW Australia after which we spent most of the time on the Pluto field
(S 19°
55',
E 115° 12')which is
some 100 nautical miles NW of
Dampier.En
route
to
Australia we passed east of Bali where a flock of 50 Red-necked
Phalarope and a few Bulwers Petrel were
observed. Otherwise just a Pomarine Skua and a couple of Bridled Tern.
Alongside
at the
offshore base at King Bay Supply Base near Dampier there was no
opportunity to
go birding but a White-bellied Sea Eagle, at least 60 Little
Correllas, Australian Darter, Yellow-Throated Miners and a number of
other species
were observed here. Most of the bird pictures
below were taken using binoculars as
telephoto lens.

Yellow-throated
Miner,
very common at King Bay Supply Base

Australian
Pelicans, Dampier

Australian
Darter, King Bay Supply Base

White-bellied
Sea Eagle, King Bay Supply Base

Out at the Pluto
field
there were generally few birds most
days, just the
occasional shearwaters, most of which were dark phase Wedge-tailed
Shearwater.
After darkness Wilsons Petrel were observed in small numbers at night
during early December, no doubt attracted by the vessel's lights. On 12
December two
Crested Terns were seen in addition to the usual Wedge-tailed
Shearwaters.

Wedge-tailed
Shearwater
(dark morph). Photo: F. Gaupås

Wedge-tailed
Shearwater
(dark morph). Photo: F. Gaupås

Mahi
Mahi or Dolphin Fish - a beautiful fish that this picture does not do
justice to.

On 15 December a minimum of 50 Wedge-tailed Shearwater were observed
following a school of fish. At least two other species of shearwater
were noted but were too far off to be positively identified.The table below lists
the species noted between early December 2005 and
mid January 2005.

Shearwater
sp

A
very small black and white shearwater was probably Little Shearwater

Shearwater
sp

A
shearwater with clear white underparts and same size as Wedge-tailed
seen occasioanlly in small numbers

Wedge-tailed
Shearwater

Puffinus pacificus

Common
inshore especially around dusk. At times numerous offshore in
conjunction with schools of fish

1-2
seen nightly on Pluto field during early December. A petrel that may
have been this species also noted during the night of 08 January.

Australian Darter

One
seen at King Bay Supply Base 14.01.06, may even be breeding as it
disappeared into some rocks

Australian
Pelican

One
seen soaring over King Bay Supply Base 14.01.06. Two seen on a
crewchange out of Dampier.

Heron
sp

One
night-heron like species noted at King Bay Supply Base

Eastern
Reef Egret

Egretta
sacra

One noted
at King Bay Supply Base 15.01.06

White-bellied
Sea Eagle

Haliaeetus
leucogaster

One-two
noted at King Bay Supply Base in Dampier

Falcon
spp.

A
small falcon, probably Nankeen Kestrel at King Bay Supply Base

Silver
Gull

Larus
novaehollandiae

Common
at King Bay Supply Base and inshore.

Bridled
Tern

Sterna anaethetus

Regular
inshore, with up to 30 noted at one time

Brown
Noddy

Anous
stolidus

One
seen feeding with Bridled Tern not far offshore

Little
Tern

Sterna albifrons

1-2
seen at King Bay Supply Base during early December

Tern
spp.

At
least 20 terns in various plumages at King Bay Supply Base 14.01.06

Crested
Tern

Sterna bergii

One
at KBSB and occasional one-twos seen on the Pluto field throughout the
project

Little
Corella

60+
at King Bay Supply Base

Galah

Cacatua
roseicapilla

Seen
at Karratha airport - very common

Singing
Honeyeater

Common
at King Bay Supply Base and Karratha airport

Yellow-throated
Miner

Common
at King Bay Supply Base and Karratha airport

Crested
Dove

A
few seen at King Bay Supply Base, common around Karratha airport

Grey
Butcher Bird

One
making some amazing noises outside Karratha airport

Magpie
Lark

Grallina
cyanoleuca

A
pair seen at King Bay Supply Base, also at Karratha airport

However, just
offshore from Dampier, (S 20°
21',
E 116° 36'),
it was a
different
story, here there were plenty of Bridled Tern and Wedge-tailed
Shearwater - the latter particularly noticeable around evening. Other
species noted out at the anchorage included Silver Gulls, a Crested
Tern, a Brown Noddy and a small, black and white shearwater (probably
Little Shearwater).

Flatback
Turtle,
Photo: Niels Løkke

Squid sp, December
2005

Flying
fish were very common and seen constantly. At night, and especially
during high winds these fish flew at some considerable height over the
surface. During windy weather, such as we experienced whilst avoiding
tropical cyclone "Clare", these amazing fish were especially prone to
landing on the deck. At other times they crashed into the side of the
vessel and fell back into the sea where they were eaten by the waiting
Bronze Whaler Sharks.

The sea seemed to be teeming with life with plenty of other wildlife to
see, inclduing sea-snakes (further in
towards land), Bronze Whaler Sharks, Squid, Hammerhead Shark, Turtles
and all kinds of fish.

Two fish that I don't know the name of....

Tuna,
Wedge-tailed Shearwater and Bridled Terns
Photo: Frode Gaupås

Another
species of flying fish, found on deck

Getting
to the worksite invloved taking a helicopter from Karratha airport out
to the vessel and the airport was thus the only other place visited
ashore other
than King Bay Supply Base. The following photographs were taken using
binoculars as
a telephoto lens and are of "record shot" quality.

Kangaroo
near Dampier LNG Plant

Grey
Butcherbird, Karratha Airport

Brown
Falcon, near King BayPhoto:
Sigve Halvorsen

Galah,
very common and very noisy

Crested
Dove, numerous at King Bay Supply Base and Karratha

Other
wildlife was also abundant around the airport at Karratha....

Long-nosed
Water Dragons Lophognathus
longirostris like
this were all over the place